


Clear and Blue

by setoboo



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Adorable Sawada Tsunayoshi, But Tsuna rolls with it, Fluff and Humor, Forced Crossdressing, I'm Bad At Tagging, M/M, That even he was unaware of, The Author Regrets Everything, Tsuna is So Done, Yamamoto Takeshi's very specific fetish
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-30
Updated: 2018-08-03
Packaged: 2019-06-18 11:36:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15484902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/setoboo/pseuds/setoboo
Summary: “Reborn!” He squeaks, voice caught somewhere in his throat as panic starts to set in. Coming to the swift and horrible conclusion of what his sadist tutor is going to make him do.His thoughts are proven right as Reborn begins to explain. “When searching, people tend to overlook the opposite sex. No one thinks a mafia boss will be willing to put on a dress just to escape from capture. They assume it is against their masculine pride or some such nonsense.” Reborn’s grin is practically predatory, obviously enjoying Tsuna’s discomfort. “That is why it always works if you know how to blend in correctly.”-----aka; the fic where Tsuna goes undercover as a girl to a local festival to learn how to avoid being captured by enemies, but ends up sexually frustrating Yamamoto Takeshi who wasn't aware he had a very specific fetish.





	1. Chapter 1

It is one week into summer break for Tsuna.

Not that he gets to _have_ breaks any more. No, Tsuna has been in constant motion since his tutor from hell showed up on his doorstep to beat him into becoming a mafia boss. The idea of him getting a day off is laughable. Hysterically laughable even, because Tsuna’s life has become a great cosmic joke. A joke meant only to entertain the sadistic brand of humor the tiny agent of chaos that inhabits his house has. It’s the only answer Tsuna has for the way his life has devolved to this point.

Because one week into summer break Tsuna wakes up one morning to Reborn’s coal black eyes staring at him with a considering look. And that look alone is enough to cause his Vongola intuition to blare _‘DANGER! DANGER!’_ so loud it is entirely possible that Reborn can hear his mental scream from across the room.

“Quit screaming dame-Tsuna. It is unbecoming for a boss to panic first thing in the morning.” Reborn immediately confirms Tsuna’s fears that the world’s greatest hitman can read his mind. Except, Tsuna realizes a moment later, that he has been _actually_ screaming in fear. Not just mentally but physically as well. He closes his mouth with an audible click of his teeth and pulls his blanket up further over his chest like it is a sort of shield against Reborn. Warily eyeing his tutor sitting in the striped hammock strung up in the corner.

Reborn snorts in amusement and bounces out of the hammock, landing on Tsuna’s desk with a grace that is frankly terrifying. No one should move that smoothly unless they are some kind of alien.

Tsuna tries to ignore that thought and immediately blames Gokudera for his brain going there. He mentally vows to host no more Sci-fi movie marathons with the silver-haired bomber for a while. Reborn is going to find a way to read Tsuna’s mind eventually and then he’ll find out he’s been calling the hitman an alien, which will result in Tsuna becoming very dead very painfully.

“What is today?” Reborn asks suddenly, breaking Tsuna from the thoughts about the inevitability of his own demise at the hands of his not-an-alien-tutor.

“Uhhh..ah..Saturday?” Tsuna answers hesitantly, because he isn’t 100% sure himself. The days tend to blur together without school to break up the monotony. Not that any day has been monotonous since Reborn shoved his way into the teen’s life. It may be more accurate to say he doesn’t know the days because he tends to be in a constant state of near-death panic and exhaustion from Reborn’s training. It helps to make everything blend in the same way that monotony does. Just more painful and less boring.

There is suddenly the ominous click of a gun’s safety being switched off. A noise that Tsuna is becoming painfully familiar with as the year progresses.

“There is no credit for partial answers, so I’ll _mercifully_ let you try one more time. What is today?”

Tsuna flails in his bed, the blanket he had pulled up to defend himself against Reborn now more of a hindrance to his thrashing about then any sort of help. Causing him to become hopelessly tangled. _“HEIIII!!_ I don’t know! I mean! T-t-the only thing I know happens today is the Nami Matsuri festival!” Tsuna is about 2 seconds from hyperventilating in panic, because he isn’t even sure if _that_ is true. The festival could be happening tomorrow, or knowing his luck, it has already passed and he just signed his own death warrant by randomly guessing. “Please don’t shoot me!”

The Nami Matsuri festival isn’t something he has ever cared about if he is going to be brutally honest. The festival is very underwhelming in comparison to some of the bigger cities summer events, the whole thing being comprised mostly of just overpriced food stalls and maybe a street game or two. He hasn’t been to the festival since his mom took him and that was what? 8 years ago, maybe 9? He has very few memories of it. Mostly just disappointment at losing some game and not getting a fish, and of burning his mouth on some takoyaki. Tsuna would have completely forgotten it existed if Yamamoto hadn’t mentioned it offhandly a few days ago. He can’t even really remember why the baseball player had brought it up in the first place. Something about squid? Or fish? Maybe?

Tsuna’s life flashes before his eyes for a long minute, before he hears what is steadily becoming his favorite sound in the world as the safety on Reborn’s gun is clicked back on. His relief is almost palpable.

“Lucky guess.” Reborn’s face is placid, but his back eyes twinkle with sadistic amusement. “Also-”

Tsuna screams as a shot goes whizzing past his head from a second gun that Reborn pulls out of seemingly nowhere.

“Begging someone to not shoot you is not appropriate behavior for the future Decimo. We will work on that later.” The hitman promises darkly.

Tsuna doesn’t even try and muffle the whimper of fear the words pull out of him. He is dead, so very dead. Dead, and full of bullet holes probably.

“However, the training I have planned for today takes precedence since the festival is only a two day affair.” The hitman says as he puts away his second gun, and the first one transforms back into Leon. Which causes Tsuna a whole new level of panic, because Reborn just shot at him with a _real_ gun, loaded with _real_ bullets. Not Dying-Will bullets, but actual shoot-you-dead bullets! “So listen closely, dame-Tsuna. We won’t have such a good setup for this particular training for another few months if you manage to mess this up somehow.”

“Mess what up?” The words fall out of Tsuna’s mouth without his conscious control.

“You are going to learn the art of going undercover.” Reborn’s grin is equal parts delighted and menacing. “I expect nothing less than perfection in this, as I am known for my undercover disguises and you failing will negatively impact me.”

Tsuna has to physically stop himself from sputtering incoherently in Reborn’s face. Because really? World renown disguises? Reborn once showed up to Namimori Middle School in a dragon costume and deadpan told no less than four people he was Seiryu, the mythical Azure Dragon of the East. For god’s sake, the dragon costume was lime green and had a zipper on the back. There was even a tag on the tail! You could see _Reborn’s face_ in the costume's mouth! How was that a world-class disguise?

Some of Tsuna’s skepticism must show on his face, because Reborn narrows his eyes in a way that usually promises physical suffering. “You have something to say about my skills?”

“No! Nope!” Tsuna waves his hands in front of his face and shakes his head fast enough he’s surprised he doesn’t get whiplash. “I have nothing to say at all!”

Reborn looks like he is debating punishing Tsuna for the slight against his abilities, but decides to move on instead. Which is even more worrying, because that usually means whatever training Reborn has planned will cause more suffering then whatever punishment he could come up with can.

“Hmph. Well let’s get on with it then I suppose.”

Tsuna only blinks once, but in that span of half a second Reborn suddenly has his tiny arms full of a massive pile of neatly folded cloth in a myriad of colors. The main of which is a soft robin-egg blue. The pile is nearly taller than Reborn is.

His jaw falls open slightly at the superhuman feat. Before clicking closed as dread starts to crawl through his veins as he recognises what is sitting on top of the pile in Reborn’s arms. Why? Why are there tabi socks? No...Oh no.

“Today you will be going undercover to the Nami Matsuri festival. The goal is to go the whole night without any one recognizing you, as well as completing a set of goals I will give you. Failure will result in remedial lessons that will not be so nice. Am I understood?”

Tsuna is about to numbly nod yes, but he stops himself before he completes the motion. Instead turning his head to the side in confusion. Because he doesn’t quite...understand the point?

“Umm...Reborn? I don’t really get it?” Tsuna’s doe-brown eyes widen in panic as he sees Reborn starting to frown in a way that usually means there is pain about to happen. So the teen hastily explains himself because _sometimes_ if he explains the reason behind his confusion Reborn doesn't get violently angry and will actually explain, but it is usually about a 30% chance. However 30% is better then 0% so he rolls the dice to not get shot at again. “I just mean - usually your lessons are about making me stand out more? To project this aura of _‘I’m the boss, listen to me, muahaha.’_  and not about trying to fade into the background? I’m usually pretty good at getting overlooked.”

Reborn is quiet for a moment, before the frown-of-pain clears away. Replaced by a small smirk that doesn’t promise physical suffering, but usually means that there is going to be some sort of mental pain instead. Which is fine, Tsuna can handle mental pain - it’s bullets that are hard to live through.

“First; don’t ever say _‘muahaha’_ to my face again. You sound like a B-rate villain and I will not be associated with anything B-rated. Second; the point is that you _do_ exert a certain aura of being the boss now. People notice you dame-Tsuna, usually because you are being a huge _dame_ and look like an idiot, but they notice you nonetheless.”  Reborn nods at his own words. “Which is good, as the future Vongola Decimo you should stand out from the rabble without more then a second glance. It is necessary to have that aura of power if you want to successfully control your subordinates.”

Tsuna does not interrupt, though he really wants to. He hates it when Reborn starts talking about _‘controlling’_ people. Why can’t he just ask nicely? Why does it have to be about using his strength against his friends? It boggles the mind because Gokudera and Yamamoto would do just about anything if Tsuna said please. It doesn’t seem like that hard a concept to understand.

Reborn continues on with his explanation, thankfully ignorant of Tsuna’s irked thoughts.

“However, there will be times when you need to be unnoticed. Which will become harder and harder to do as your reputation grows. It is important we start to cultivate the ability before you take over Vongola so that it is something you know how to do if needed.”

Tsuna slowly nods, because he can kind of follow along. However…”Why would I need to go undercover though? Isn’t that something you would normally get a professional to do? Especially if it was important or dangerous? You always say I can’t put myself in danger since I’m the boss or whatever. Will I ever really need to do undercover missions?”

Reborn makes a thoughtful hum, like he is mildly impressed that Tsuna actually remembered something that was said to him. “Under normal circumstances, yes. You would delegate to one of your underlings to do such menial tasks as undercover missions. However, what I am training you to do is not meant for field work. It is meant to keep you safe.” Reborn looks him dead in the eye, and Tsuna knows that for once his tutor is being deathly serious. “There may come a time you need to flee without being noticed. Maybe an enemy famiglia is after you, or the authorities have you cornered. Being able to slip by unseen is the greatest skill you can have when open confrontation is not advisable. That is not to say you can take the cowards way out, but if the odds are not in your favor for some reason. Then you need to know how to lay low and get out.”

 _Oh…._ This is training to keep him _safe?_

Tsuna feels something warm pool low in his stomach at the small act of protectiveness from his tutor.  It is very rare that something is about keeping him out of harm's way and not actively shoving him into it. Well...if that is what this is about...

“So that is why I am going to teach you the ultimate technique of going undercover.” Reborn finishes with a confident nod. “It has never failed me. And with proper training it will doubtlessly work for you as well.”

“Yes, Reborn!” Tsuna agrees eagerly. More into the idea now that it has been explained.

Reborn’s smirk is firmly planted on his face as he suddenly drops the bundle of cloth into Tsuna’s hands. The teen actually makes a small ‘oof’ noise and almost drops the pile because it is unexpectedly heavy. What the heck?

Reborn doesn’t seem likely to explain, but his amused eyes tells Tsuna that he is waiting for the clothes to be investigated.

Wearily, Tsuna beings to pull things off the top of the pile. The first thing he grabs is what he already saw before. The tabi socks are plain white. Nothing alarming about them except for the fact that it means whatever this outfit is he is probably going to be wearing sandals with it. The next item is a decorative cord in nearly the same shade of light-blue as the biggest piece of cloth. There is a cute little charm attached to the cord that is shaped like a fish. Thankfully it looks more like a goldfish then a tuna fish. He would have had to destroy the charm on principle if Reborn had gotten him something tuna themed. He has enough of that nonsense from his father, thank you very much.

The next item is a long swath of cloth with a simple geometric pattern barely visible in the burnt orange color. Tsuna has two seconds of blissful ignorance of what he is holding before realization slams into him like a freight train coming off the tracks.

He is holding an Obi.

Of course that's what it is, what else did he think it would be? It makes sense considering the Tabi socks and decorative ornaments.

Which means….

Tsuna drops the obi to the side of his bed and pulls the pastel blue yukata up in front of his wild eyes. Taking in the powdery color and the now visible pink flower pattern along the hem and sleeves.

It’s a _girl’s_ yukata.

“Reborn!” He squeaks, voice caught somewhere in his throat as panic starts to set in. Coming to the swift and horrible conclusion of what his sadist tutor is going to make him do.

His thoughts are proven right as Reborn begins to explain.“When searching, people tend to overlook the opposite sex. No one thinks a mafia boss will be willing to put on a dress just to escape from capture. They assume it is against their masculine pride or some such nonsense.” Reborn’s grin is practically predatory, obviously enjoying Tsuna’s discomfort. “That is why it always works if you know how to blend in correctly.”

Tsuna wants to hurl insults at Rebon as soon as he is done talking. Because this is going too far! He has put up with a lot of humiliation because of the tiny hitman but this takes the cake. He can’t just put on girls clothes and wander around the city during a festival! He’ll get labeled a weirdo, or worse, a pervert!

He almost gives in and yells at Reborn that this isn’t fair, that the hitman doesn’t ever have to do anything like this. He never has to wear girl clothes for his missions!

Except...Well...That isn’t exactly true is it?

He has seen Reborn in a lot of costumes. Some stupid - like the lime-green dragon - others outlandish. He remembers Reborn dressed as the grim reaper following him around when he came down with skullitits, and as a ninja at some point. A doctor, and an astronaut, and a sea urchin. He has seen Reborn in a _lot_ of costumes. Which is maybe why he didn’t question it when he saw the hitman in a cheerleaders uniform. Or the time he was a nun. And the less said about the events that lead to Reborn running around in a western style wedding dress the better. Hell at one point Reborn came to school in a miniature version of the girl’s uniform, which made Hibari-san twitch like mad because he couldn’t manage to punish Reborn for violating the school dress code.

He only now realizes that well...Reborn crossdresses pretty frequently in all honesty. This isn’t something he is doing to completely humiliate Tsuna. There may be a grain of truth to what the world’s greatest hitman is saying. Or at least Tsuna can comfort himself with the knowledge that he isn’t the only one who is going to be running around the city in women’s clothes.

Reborn is going to find a way to humiliate him with this, no doubt about it. But there might actually be something worth knowing mixed into the oncoming mortification.

But...does it have to be so...girly?

“Did it have to have _pink_ flowers? Couldn’t I have a yukata with like...shapes or fish or birds? Why flowers of all things?” He whines.

Reborn’s voice is bored as he answers. “Statistically, girls of your age group wear flower patterns more than any other style available. Typically in shades of pink, white, or purple. I pinked this yukata specifically to make you blend in as much as possible.” The sadistic smirk returns for a frightening moment as the tiny hitman continues to speak. “You should be thankful that you can get away with just a girl’s yukata at a local festival for your first undercover training. Pipsqueak-Dino wasn’t so lucky.”

Tsuna’s eyes almost bug out of his head. “Dino-nii had to crossdress at a festival too?!”

“No.” Reborn states with ruthless glee. “He had to attend a mafia don’s birthday party in a bright red ball-gown. It was pure _chaos_.”

Tsuna shivers in empathetic pain for his big brother. Reborn doesn’t call anything ‘chaos’ unless the situation has truly descended into mind-shattering levels of madness. Tsuna doesn’t even want to think about what could have happened to cause that particular brand of delight he sees reflected in Reborn’s eyes. Whatever it is, it can’t be good.

He mentally promises not to question Dino-nii _ever_ about the party, the poor man is probably traumatized beyond measure.

“So you are getting the easy version of my foolproof method. Be happy dame-Tsuna, I almost decided to put you in one of those lolita dresses that are so popular in Tokyo right now. High heels and all.”

Tsuna brain almost implodes at the idea of being forced to wear some pink frilly abomination of lace and ribbons. He can’t even imagine walking around in platform heels. He has seen girls downtown dressed in such clothes before, and the idea of him wearing the dresses causes his stomach to roll nauseously. A yukata is one thing, it’s conservative and kind of formal feeling.Traditional, if he has to give it a single word. Lolita dresses are...are the exact opposite. It’s all ruffles and pleats and hoops skirts. Heavy fabric cut to show off a girls femininity. Comparing the two is like apples and oranges.

Tsuna is suddenly okay with the blue and pink yukata.

“T-t-thank you Reborn.” He stutters out, feeling slightly dizzy as images of him falling flat on his face in some monstrosity of creme fabric and high heels plays on loop in his head.

Reborn’s self satisfied smirk probably means that the idea of the lolita dress isn’t so much _dead_ as currently on the back burner. But Tsuna is willing to ignore it for now, that is a problem for future him to deal with. At the moment he can _probably_ handle the yukata.

However…

“Ah….Reborn. I don’t really know how to uh...put this on? The last time I wore a kimono I was like 6 years old and mama did most of it.” He holds the pastel blue fabric towards Reborn helplessly. Hoping for some reason that the world’s greatest hitman will take pity on him and at least verbally walk him through the complex motions of getting the yukata on correctly.

“Figure it out. You have until 5PM before I will inspect you. If you aren’t properly dressed and up to my standards by then I will put you in the lolita dress and have you run laps around the neighbourhood in heels instead.”

Tsuna screams in fear and falls out of his bed in a rush to get to work.


	2. Chapter 2

If there is one thing in this world that Tsuna would like to thank, it is online tutorial videos.

Reborn had vanished within the first two minutes of Tsuna’s first fumbling attempts to figure out how to properly wrap the deceptively simple robe around himself. He wasted almost an entire hour trying to blunder his way to success before giving up, almost in tears due to the fear of having to run around in high heels where all his neighbours can see him.

His savior becomes apparent to him as he is flailing around his room. Arms waving above his head as he rants at everything related to Reborn and the Mafia, the pastel blue and pink sleeves billowing behind him from where the current cause of his torment is still loosely clinging to his skinny form. Wide open and becoming a hazard as it continues to get caught under his feet.

He eventually trips on the yukata’s hem and is only saved from falling flat on his face by grabbing his computer desk. Which is when, for the first time in his panic induced haze, he remembers there is a _computer_ in his room and someone _\- somewhere -_ must have a guide on how to put this demonic contraption on.

So that is how he spends another hour. First looking up picture guides, which don’t really help much, but at least gives him a general sense of the motions. He follows the picture guides as much as he can, but the yukata ends up hanging off him loosely. The obi is a messy knot and he completely forgot to put the Obijime and Obi Dome _(the cord and fish charm, he had discovered the names from one of the guides.)_ on at all. It is almost as much of a disaster as his first attempts without help.

Thankfully he finds a guide that is linked to a big department store in Kyoto that sells Kimono, and from that department store he finally finds a couple of video guides to follow. It’s broken up into sections, and those sections are broken into simple step by step instructions and Tsuna almost cries in relief as he watches part one of the four part series.

The first thing he realizes from the video is that he can’t go shirtless like he had planned. The yukata has holes near the arms and if he moves in just the right way people can get a glimpse inside the folds of the cloth. This causes a new wave of panic because people can just look and see he isn’t a girl if he goes shirtless. They will immediately know he is crossdressing and call him out! He’ll be a laughing stock.

His fear is slightly alleviated by the video telling him about simple light weight clothes to wear under a yukata. Recommending some brand of petticoat sold in their store, but the video helpfully shows him some other options that might be readily available at home. So he rips apart his closest and manages to find a thin blue tank top he never wares. (It is _too_ thin, if he sweats or gets wet at all the material is practically see-through, which is not what a shirt is supposed to do.) and a pair of small white shorts that might have been some sort of gym clothes at some point. They seem simple and light enough to not impede the yukata, nor make him super hot if the heat index remains high into the night.

So he changes into the lightweight clothes, and with that done, he watches the next part of the videos with wide eyes. He ends up watching them all about three times a peice before he finally thinks he might be able to slowly follow along with the model on camera.

He moves his desk chair out of the way and lays out all the parts of the yukata on his bed so he can easily grab them as he tries to keep up with the video. It is an effort in futility of course, he can barely follow along for fifteen seconds before he has to pause the video and backtrack to the point he got left behind at.

It takes forever just to successfully get the yukata tied like they do it on the screen. His hands fumble with the unfamiliar knots and without a mirror he can’t see how it looks once he has tucked the loose ends of the first tie around his waist. But he has the first step done and that gives him the confidence to keep going.

It takes almost another hour for him to slowly put all the parts together, and in the end he still looks like a hot mess.

He discovers too late he didn’t tuck the sides of the yukata tight enough against his hips and as he moves around they start to loosen.  The collar wasn’t pinched into place because he forgot to do that step while trying to flatten out the top half of the summer kimono, which leaves a wide gap in the front the extends well past his collar bone. The less said about the mess he made of the Obi the better, because while he tried to make the cute bow the girl in the video had demonstrated his Obi is too loose and the bow he slaved over unravels as soon as he goes to try and spin the Obi around to put it behind his back.

But the yukata is _on_. It’s ugly, and he is not leaving the house in it, but he managed to put the thing on! Without anyone’s help even! Well, not counting the help of the Kyoto department store instructional videos…but still! Take that Reborn!

Tsuna’s rumbling stomach makes him realizes he has spent almost four hours in his bedroom and hasn’t ate breakfast or lunch and he is starving. So without much thought he goes downstairs and breezes past the living room and into the kitchen to grab something to snack on. More intent on getting something in his stomach so he can go back upstairs and try to get the yukata on correctly then he is on getting a full sit down meal.

He is in the midst of grabbing an apple when he hears Lambo and I-pin come running down the stairs, voices loud and obviously fighting about something.

“Give back, broccoli head!” I-pin yells as she chases a cackling Lambo into the living room. In his hands is one of the dolls Mama had bought the little girl some time ago. Tsuna thinks it’s the cloth one with the curly brown hair, but he can’t see it very well with Lambo’s body blocking his view.

“You gotta catch the great Lambo-san first!” The boy taunts back, launching himself over the back of the couch and nearing the kitchen. I-pin’s shout of frustration is loud as she also bounces over the couch easily and slowly cuts the distance between herself and Lambo down.

Tsuna doesn’t even think about his actions, it is so common by this point that he can safely call it a reflex when he reaches down and snags the doll out of Lambo’s hands as he runs past the kitchen doorway. He leans back and makes himself comfortable against the door’s trim with his uneaten apple in one hand and I-pin’s brown haired doll in the other, frowning silently at the fighting children in front of him.

Lambo cries out in shock as the doll is suddenly gone from his grasp, and I-pin makes a triumphant yell of something in Cantonese that Tsuna does not understand. Before the duo both turn and look at Tsuna towering above them. They both blink in bewilderment and it is no surprise that Lambo is the one to break the momentary silence by pointing at Tsuna and yelling “Tsuna-nii is wearing old people clothes!”

Tsuna chokes on his own spit and coughs hard, because _what?!_

“Pretty.” Is I-pin’s much kinder statement, staring slightly open mouthed at the yukata. Which is what helps Tsuna figure out that _oh yeah_ , he is wearing girls clothes in front of the two biggest blabbermouth children in his house.

“It..It’s a yukata. Not just old people wear them Lambo.” Tsuna tries to save face. He can only thank his lucky stars that both the kids are foreign and young, they more than likely don’t know what the difference between certain types of kimono are. And if Lambo’s assessment is anything to go off of, they probably only think it’s what old people wear here in Japan. Which makes sense, the only people they have probably seen in kimono around here are Tsuna’s elderly neighbors across the street.

Lambo frowns and narrows his eyes at being told he is wrong about something, but he seems just as enthralled by the colorful outfit as I-pin is. Tsuna tries not to feel self conscious that they found him with the thing put on so poorly. Especially as the two continue to stare at him.

I-pin steps forward and reaches out towards one of the sleeves before physically pausing as she remembers her manners. “ _Gohgo_ , can I-pin touch?” She asks with poorly concealed want.

Tsuna can’t help but smile at her innocent request, so he places the doll on the kitchen table and willingly brings his sleeve down to where she can grab it easier. “Gently,” he murmurs as she goes to touch. “It will wrinkle if you’re rough.”

Lambo darts forward as well, obviously taking I-pin being allowed to touch as permission for him to do the same. Both of their hands glide over the sleeve, feeling the lightweight material and tracing the pink flower petals with their fingers. Lambo’s green eyes are big as he outlines the falling petals with surprising dedication. I-pin is busy shoving her own little hand into the inside of the sleeve to feel the interior cloth. Babbling slightly in Cantonese with words that Tsuna can only roughly guess the meaning of.

“If it’s not for old people why does Lambo-san only see Sato-oji and Sato-oba wear them.” Lambo demands to know. “Mama should wear one. Mama would be pretty.”

I-pin nods rapidly in agreement, which is a rare enough occurrence between the two that Tsuna almost thinks he’s entered the twilight zone. “Mama can wear one?” I-pin asks Tsuna with her head cocked to the side.

“Ah…Mama could wear one if she wants. She probably doesn’t because they are kinda hard to put on and move around in. Most people only wear them to festivals and special events, kinda like suits. The Sato’s wear them everyday because they like to, it’s not like...a rule that they have to wear kimono all the time.” Tsuna tries to explain as best he can. “Mama has a kimono I’m pretty sure, or at least she did a few years ago. It was dark green with a sort of criss-cross pattern in white.”

I-pin and Lambo light up at the information that Nana also has a kimono, but I-pin is the one who makes the connection that Tsuna was hoping they would overlook.

“If for special event only. Why _Gohgo_ wear?”

Lambo’s green eyes also go big as he comes to the same question. “Yeah! Why does Tsuna-nii get to wear the pretty yu-yuhka- the pretty thing!”

Tsuna takes his sleeve back from the children so he can scratch the back of his neck nervously. He doesn’t dare tell them that he is going to a festival tonight, they will both want to go and that is a sure bet that the night will turn into a disaster. There is no chance he can lay low and not get caught, someone will recognize Lambo or I-pin immediately if he takes them. “Well, this is part of some training Reborn is making me do tonight. I’m still getting dressed for it.” he explains, omitting most of the pertinent details from the duo. At the mention of Reborn, I-pin frowns but becomes uninterested. Lambo also scowls, but it’s more aimed at trying to figure out how the yukata can possibly be part of the hitman’s training regime. “Also it’s a yukata, Lambo. It’s a type of kimono you wear in the summer.”

“Lambo-san can call it what Lambo-san wants to call it!” The cow-dressed child argues back petulantly before changing gears suddenly and declaring. “Lambo-san is going to ask Mama about yukata!”

Tsuna gapes as the boy disappears into the laundry room, yelling for Nana at the top of his lungs. Tsuna screams low in his throat in fear and goes to flee back up the stairs with his apple. Not wanting his mother to see him in a girl’s kimono. The two little kids might be blissfully ignorant of the type of yukata he is wearing, but his mother will not be so oblivious.

However, his own poor tying of the yukata once more comes to wreak havoc. Tsuna barely makes it two steps before the uneven edges of the pastel blue cloth becomes trapped under his feet. Causing him to once more start falling towards the floor. He manages to save himself by clinging to the kitchen table with a white knuckled hand. But the extra time he wastes on scrambling back up and getting his balance back is enough for Nana to come out of the laundry room with Lambo is her arms, the little boy babbling a million miles a minute at her.

“The great Lambo-san demands to see Mama in a pretty yukata like Tsuna-nii is in! If stupid-Reborn can make Tsuna-nii wear one then Mama should have to wear one too!”

Nana is smiling at the little boy and giggling in obvious delight at his orders. “Awww, Lambo-chan. That is so sweet. I don’t think I’ve worn a yukata since Tsu-kun was five.” She hums as she walks towards where Lambo is wildly pointing.

Tsuna’s own panicked chocolate eyes meet his mother’s mildly surprised doe-brown as she turns into the kitchen. The two of them stare at each other for a quiet moment. Nana obviously taking in the pastel blue color and the pink flowers. The poorly tied orange obi with it’s failed bow and the tiny goldfish ornament carved out of some white material. Tsuna feels sick to his stomach because he knows with clarity that his mother knows _exactly_ what he is wearing. He can see it in her eyes.

“Tsu-kun!” She squeaks, and here it comes. Here is where he dies. It was a good life while it lasted. “You look so cute!”

Tsuna flinches, but forces a wary smile on his face. Maybe, just maybe, he can get out of this conversation without her asking why he is in a girl’s yukata in the kitchen. Or at least maybe she won’t mention it with the other kids present _Maybe…_

“Ahh! I’m so happy. You hated kimono when you were little. You wouldn’t even let me take you to the new year's celebration in one!” Nana continues to babble excitedly, stepping forward to grab at the same sleeve both Lambo and I-pin had been touching only moments ago. “Ohh, this is very nice material. It must be expensive, did you buy it Tsu-kun?”

“Ah-ha, no. Reborn bought it for me. He’s the one making me wear this.” He admits with an obvious grimace.

“Reborn-san has good taste then, maybe I should ask him to pick one out for me...Oh!” Nana pulls away from Tsuna, and claps her hands together in excitement even though she has Lambo clinging to her like a limpet. “We should all get dressed up and go to the Nami Matsuri festival! It would be so fun. We can even get Lambo-chan, I-pin-chan, and Fuuta-chan all dressed up! Their first festival Tsu-kun!”

Tsuna splutters in fear, but the sudden excited look on both Lambo and Nana’s faces. And the quite hope on I-pin’s face quickly kills Tsuna’s ability to shut this oncoming train-wreck down. The only thing he can do is slow it slightly at this point.

“We..we could do that. Buh-but we should go tomorrow! Saturday is always the busiest day you know, if we go tomorrow we won’t have as much of a crowd to deal and we will get to do more.” Please let her buy it, please, please, _please_.

Nana tilts her head to the side for a moment, before she goes back to smiling wide at Tsuna and nodding happily at his suggestion. “Yes, yes, you’re right! Plus if were going to dress up then we will need to get yukata for everyone! Oh my, I don’t know if my old one even fits anymore.” Nana mutters and turns to exit the kitchen, still carrying Lambo with her. I-pin starts to sprint after the pair when Lambo shouts excitedly. “Mama is gonna put on a pretty yukata too!” and Nana laughs eagerly in response.

Tsuna almost collapses on the floor in relief. But his one hand still gripping the table for dear life keeps him from sliding to his knees. That was too close. Way too close.

He isn’t sure why his mom didn’t say anything, she certainly knew what he was wearing. But maybe her own excitement at seeing Tsuna in traditional clothes momentarily blinded her to the fact he was crossdressing in the kitchen. That or the idea of getting to dress up the kids for cute photos tomorrow. One of the two things probably did it.

Tsuna snatches his apple and makes a run for the stairs. Determined to not come back down until Reborn comes back for his check-in. He is not going to chance another encounter like that again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Two chapters in and Yamamoto is only mentioned once in passing", I hear you cry. "Where is the smut?" you lament.  
> Never fear It will come my gentle lambs - do not fret. For I too want to get to the porn. 
> 
> Please feel free to guess Takeshi's really specific kink. I'm dying to see what you people can come up with. I hope it's worse then what I did because I need to feel better about myself.
> 
> Reviews and kudos are appreciated. ~<3


	3. Chapter 3

Tsuna looks himself over for the 20th time. Eyes alert for faults in the garment and all the bits and bobs attached to it.

He thinks that this time he _might_ have actually managed to put it on right. But he has thought that same thing three other times now and been subsequently proven wrong each time. Either the Obi hadn’t been tucked right at the end and unraveled when spun around to face the back, or the collar hadn’t been pinched correctly, or the hem had fallen down too far. There was so many steps that could go wrong, and as Tsuna had discovered, whenever one step messed up he inevitably had to undo the whole outfit and start again from scratch. He has lost count of how many times he’s put the yukata on, but It is past the double digits now.

At this point he doesn’t even need to look at the videos anymore. The movements and steps are ingrained in his mind from sheer repetition. Now if he could just get past forgetting to tuck or tighten whatever little thing plans to go wrong Tsuna would say he’s become fairly good at getting the evil contraption on and off.

He isn’t afraid to admit he has even gone out of his way to watch some of the other videos the Kyoto department store has about kimonos. There was a small mini series on how to tie different styles of Obi, each one more extravagant then the last. He had backed out after the second one because the complexity and speed of the movements had made him slightly nauseous to watch. Although he would admit the flowery shape the knot had taken at the end of the video was very pretty. Pretty, but waaaaay out of his skill range. He was doing good that he had finally managed to nail the simple bow.

The Obi was the hardest part of the whole process he had swiftly discovered. Wrapped too loose and it would fall apart within minutes, too tight and Tsuna couldn’t bend over or breathe. Then there was the actual matter of _tying_ the knot to keep it all together and that was its’ own tiny hell to fumble through. If he had too little material sectioned off then the bow became lopsided, too much material and it became even worse looking.

Tsuna thinks he may have finally found the middle ground for all this though. Tight, but not too tight. The correct amount of the sash sectioned off to make a big _\- but not too big! -_ bow on the back. The outer layer of the Obi is the darker material with the faint geometric pattern, but the bow itself is a lighter orange shade made up of the inner material that lacks any pattern. Contrasting the pale orange to the burnt color nicely if Tsuna does say so himself. He has even looked up how to correctly tie to the Obijime and position the Obi Dome so it sits tightly in the center of the Obi.

He critically eyes every little detail. Tugging and pulling to see if things will come loose with added pressure, but everything seems to be holding for now.

Reborn will accept nothing less than perfection in this. And by this point  - with the amount of work Tsuna has put into the outfit - he won’t accept anything else either. If he is going to be forced to wander among the citizens of Namimori in a girl’s yukata for the next few hours then he is going to make sure he looks as picture perfect as the Kyoto department store models do.

So he spins around in circles, tests the give of the material. How far can he raise his arms, how big of steps can he take. How high can he jump before the cloth impedes him. He tests if he can sit in his desk chair _(He had discovered the second time he thought he was done that when he sat down he couldn’t breathe for how tight the Obi was tied.)_ Makes sure he can kneel down on the floor and stand back up without anything pulling or coming undone. Each test is met with success, and Tsuna almost can’t believe he might have finally done it correctly.

Tsuna’s door is suddenly and violently kicked open. Prompting Tsuna to screech in unholy terror at the loud bang. However, unlike normal when he would dive for cover in situations like this, he takes up a battle stance regardless of his fear. He has nowhere to run except out the window which is on the second story. So that is a no-go.

Plus, he has worked for almost 9 solid hours on putting this stupid yukata on correctly. He is not going to throw himself under the bed and risk something getting caught. Just...no. At this point he would rather brawl then put the kimono on one more time. So Tsuna takes a shaky breath and looks down to meet the coal eyes of his assailant.

The intruder is easily identified as Reborn, who is standing in the open doorway with a smirk firmly in place. “Ciaossu.” He greets his student with glee. Eyeing the unexpected combat stance with something like approval.

“Reborn! You scared me!” Oh thank heavens, it’s only Reborn. Tsuna doesn’t even attempt to mask his relief and drops his fists back down to his side.

With his luck it could have been anyone come kicking in his door. Gokudera, Haru, there was that one time with Squalo _(He was looking for Takeshi thankfully, not Tsuna. But he still has nightmares about being awoken in the middle of the night by a loud scream of “VOOIII!” and the sound of a sword unsheathing.)_ Honestly, with the way today is going it wouldn’t have surprised him if some new long lost enemy of Vongola had come into his room to throw down the proverbial gauntlet in some horribly convoluted scheme to enact revenge. That was just his life now.

Compared to that, Tsuna will take Reborn any day. Better the devil you know then the devil you don’t as they say.

“Time is up, dame-Tsuna. You are ready to be inspected, _right?_ ” Reborn isn’t even trying to hide how much he hopes Tsuna isn’t ready. The sadist probably has the lolita dress and high heels hidden away in whatever pocket dimension he hides all his pistols and sniper rifles in. On standby and ready to be used to torture his poor student to a humiliated death with.

“I’m as good as I’m going to get.” Tsuna answers truthfully. Knowing that without another few hours to study the ‘advanced’ kimono guides and some of the more specialized contraptions needed to further refine his yukata he is as close to perfect as he is ever going to get. Which is hopefully enough to get out of this inspection with a minimal amount of pain.

Reborn hums absently at his students answer and wanders forward. Black eyes taking in every detail from the angle of the collar, to the lift of the hem. He waves an arm at Tsuna and the boy’s intuition tells him that Reborn wants him to hold out his arms, so he does. Let’s his sleeves dangle in the air and holds still. The world’s greatest hitman makes a soft ‘tsk’ noise at something - which causes Tsuna to go through an immediate fight or flight response that he has to wrestle down to stay still. Reborn points towards the ceiling and Tsuna slowly, and fearfully, raises his arms above his head. The response is the same, a low ‘tsk’ but nothing else said. Tsuna is next forced to spin around so his back is facing Reborn. Which causes a new wave of panic, because Tsuna’s lizard hindbrain knows you never show your back to a predator. And Reborn is a prime example of a predator.

He puts his arms down, then up, then above his head. Feels small hands touching at the bow on the Obi, then his Obi is pulled hard but thankfully doesn’t budge much. Even the Obijime stays taunt under the assault.

Tsuna almost thinks he is going to get out of this unscathed, before a half-second too late his intuition blares a warning and two tiny, yet overwhelmingly strong hands shove the brunette hard. Sending him sprawling ungracefully towards the floor.

Tsuna yelps at the impact, but rolls to the left immediately, barely dodging a Leon-Hammer that would have definitely hit his head if he had remained still. He barely thinks about it as he rolls again and forces himself to his knees so that he can regain his footing. Dodging Reborn is useless if he is just going to flop around on the ground like a hooked fish, he needs to be on his feet to have any chance against his tutor. No matter how _miniscule_ that chance is. So, with that in mind, he pushes off his knees and lands hard on the balls of his feet. Mentally thanking every deity he can remember the name of that he had thought to test his ability to get up from kneeling before Reborn arrived.

He has a split second to recognize the hammer coming at him again, and jumps backwards in one of the most uncoordinated displays of flailing limbs he may have ever pulled. It does the job though, he lands - shakily he’ll admit - but he manages to dodge the attack so hey, that is a plus. He will take a clumsy escape over pain any day.

“Reborn!” He yells at the tiny hitman from his defensive position, ready to jump away again if the hammer starts to come back down. Said hitman only looks at him innocently, even as Leon transformes back from a giant mallet and climbs back up to his usual perch on the brim of Reborn’s fedora. Tsuna doesn’t relax though, this morning has taught him that Reborn is not against using live-weapons against him. The second he relaxes is likely the same second he is going to be eating bullets.

The world’s greatest hitman hums absently before finally deigning to speak to the teenager. “I said you would be inspected, and that is what I did.” Tsuna watches a self-satisfied smirk draw across the not-infant’s face, his delight nearly tangible at Tsuna’s suffering “What did you think I meant by that? I obviously expected you to be combat ready in the yukata. An undercover costume does you no good if it hampers your ability to escape or fight, dame-Tsuna.”

Tsuna can’t stop himself from spluttering angrily in response. He wasn’t told that! Reborn hadn’t said a single thing about being ready for combat! That..that..That cheater! He set him up to fail! Tsuna had been so intent on getting the yukata looking pristine and perfect for his tutor’s high standards he hadn’t even considered fighting. Now Reborn is going to fail him on something he didn’t even know he was being graded on! Unfair, completely unfair.

Tsuna lets his head hang down, an angry blush on his cheeks as he stares at the wooden floorboards of his room in defeat. Already mentally preparing himself for the humiliation he is about to endure. Maybe Reborn will show a little kindness and the heels won’t be stupidly high. He will probably break his ankles if he has to wear the four-inch tall platforms he has seen girls wander around in. Break his ankles and his face, if he is being honest.  

“You’ll be pleased to know you passed.” Reborn continues, causing Tsuna’s head to jerk up fast enough that he feels his neck twinge in pain because wait.... _What!?_ “Well...barely passed, but I’m willing to show some leniency since you obviously took this lesson serious. Your combat performance was sloppy at best, but the attention you paid to the outfit is decent.” Tsuna feels his jaw drop in shock. _Decent?_ Reborn said he looks _decent?_ He can feel a mental breakdown coming on fast, because that is practically a gold star of approval from the hitman. He looks decent?! Like, he looks _good_ -decent?! Reborn has never _once_ been that blatant in praising him.

Tsuna can’t help but flail a little bit at the praise. His furious red blush turning to pleased pink embarrassment and he tries to use his hands to hide the color in his cheeks from his tutor. Not that it does him any good. Reborn sees everything, and Tsuna isn’t exactly subtle.

Reborn snorts from the floor and once again makes Tsuna question his perception of reality as he blinks only once - and suddenly the world’s greatest hitman has something in his hands. Pulled from whatever hammer-space he controls.

But Tsuna is not intent on the mechanics behind the mind-bendingly fast acquisition of the item, as he is on what the item is. Because it looks like just a bundle of pink flowers. But something about the tiny bouquet itches at the back of his mind.

“Because you did well enough to not warrant any punishment this time. I’ll reward you by giving you the final part of your costume.” The arcobaleno jumps off the floor suddenly and lands easily on Tsuna’s left shoulder. Deceptively light and somehow managing to not cause a single wrinkle in the pastel blue yukata as he balances on his chosen perch. Tsuna freezes in place as he feels tiny hands move into his hair, arranging his wild locks into something less resembling a bird’s nest. It is still spiking everywhere, but it is more flat than usual. Tsuna almost thinks of Reborn as an alien again, because no one on this _planet_ has ever managed to fix his hair before.

Before Tsuna can ask what his tutor is doing he feels something heavy being clipped to the left side of his head. He feels something like petals lightly brush against his ear almost teasingly. But the petals don’t feel like real flowers, they must be made of some sort of cloth. Only meant as an imitation.

The realization hits the teen like a bolt from the sky. The flower bundle is no bouquet! It’s some sort of hair clip!

 _Oh..._ Tsuna remembers hearing about this in one of the few advanced videos he had managed to sit through. Reborn is giving him a Kanzashi. Or at least something to act as one. One final detail to tie the whole look of an innocent teenage girl going to a festival together.

“A Kanzashi?” He asks, just to get confirmation that his assumption is correct.

“Yes, an important part of any disguise is breaking up your usual silhouette.” Reborn answers without acknowledging the small gift beyond a one word affirmation. “When I go undercover you will notice I never use a hat that resembles the one I typically wear. It is too well known and would incriminate me immediately. This goes for you as well since your hair is...memorable.” Tsuna can tell that by ‘ _memorable’_ Reborn really means _‘a dead give away’_. “Taming it a little and adding a decoration or two to break up your normal profile will help you slip by unnoticed by most. Only truly skilled hitmen typically see through these steps. But for civilians it will be more than enough for tonight.”

Reborn hops down from his left shoulder and lands silently on the wooden floor.

Tsuna touches the soft fabric of the imitation flowers attached to his hair - he thinks they might be carnations, but his knowledge of flowers is limited at best. He has never cared about flowers enough to memorize them, but he wishes he knew a little bit now.

He quickly turns his whole attention to the arcobaleno in front of him when a small smirk starts to appear in the corners of Reborn’s mouth. A small feeling of dread starts to pool in his stomach at what that look implies.

Reborn loudly claps his hands together, and the smirk on his face threatens to start showing teeth as the hitman announces. “I have your schedule ready for tonight. I do hope you manage to get through everything I have listed, otherwise you might have to go again tomorrow night and finish up. I’m sure Mama will be happy to help you get dolled up again alongside the children if that turns out to be the case.” With that cheery threat, Reborn tosses a single slip of paper into Tsuna’s flailing hands.

Tsuna hesitantly opens the paper and skims it over. His terrified **_‘HIIIEEEE!!’_ ** at what he reads can be heard all the way to the festival grounds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reborn walks in expecting a hot mess, instead he sees a mess that is hot. His thought process is simply _'Holy shit, I am a genius. 10billion points to griffinpuff.'_
> 
> From the back I hear a scream _"This fic is fukkin 9k and Yamamoto has only been mentioned in passing 3 times. Where is the porn."_ The answer is very simple you see...I suck (runs away in fear)
> 
> _Please alert me to any errors in the chapter. I didn't proof read this one really hard. I was too busy watching vine compilations and eating ice-cream._

**Author's Note:**

> In my google docs this story is titled "Im gonna put on my best clothing and ignore all my self loathing" because vine isn't dead in my heart.
> 
> Reviews are welcomed, please let me know if there are any errors.


End file.
